Selecting Search Terms

Use words likely to appear on the pages you want. Avoid using a question as a query. For example, the query, [ where do I apply for a passport in New Zealand ], instructs Google to find pages containing all the terms. Such a query won’t necessarily find pages answering your question. A better query […]

...read all of: Quick Tips

Below are suggestions for publicizing your site — and improving its PageRank — based on our experience getting the word out about Google Guide.
Include useful high-quality information on your site.
Create content that users want and will share with others.
Submit your site to various web directories and reference sites.
A web directory “specializes in linking to other […]

...read all of: Improving Your PageRank

PageRank is Google’s system for ranking web pages. A page with a higher PageRank is deemed more important and is more likely to be listed above a page with a lower PageRank.
Google describes PageRank:

PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual […]

...read all of: What’s PageRank?

How does Google find your site and list it? Merely registering your domain on the Internet isn’t enough.
As soon as your site is available on the Internet, you can submit it to Google by completing the add URL form at www.google.com/addurl.html.

Another way to be listed — and to raise your PageRank too — is by […]

...read all of: Listing Your Website

This segment provides tips on:

Creating Content
Linking to Search Results
Getting Listed
Improving Your PageRank
Advertising Your Website
Generating Revenue using AdSense

The information in this section is based on my experience in designing and developing Google Guide, which is now the top result for the queries Google tutorial, Google guide, using Google, Google stock symbol, and Google favorite features.

Note: There are thousands of sites devoted to developing […]

...read all of: Developing a Website Intro

There are two basic ways to find information systematically on the Web: browsing and searching. Chris Sherman and Gary Price offer the following description of browsing versus searching in their book The Invisible Web.

… think of how you use a library. If you’re familiar with a subject it’s often more useful to browse in the […]

...read all of: Directory: Categories of Topics

Google’s web-page-ranking system, PageRank, tends to give priority to better respected and trusted information. Well-respected sites link to other well-respected sites. This linking boosts the PageRank of high-quality sites. Consequently, more accurate pages are typically listed before sites that include unreliable and erroneous material. (The various browser toolbars can show you the PageRank of the […]

...read all of: Evaluating What You Find

Google takes a snapshot of each page it examines and caches (stores) that version as a back-up. The cached version is what Google uses to judge if a page is a good match for your query.
Practically every search result includes a Cached link. Clicking on that link takes you to the Google cached version of […]

...read all of: Cached Pages

If you aren’t interested in learning how Google creates the index and the database of documents that it accesses when processing a query, skip this description. I adapted the following overview from Chris Sherman and Gary Price’s wonderful description of How Search Engines Work in Chapter 2 of The Invisible Web (CyberAge Books, 2001).
[…]

...read all of: How Google Works

When you don’t find what you’re seeking, consider specifying more precisely what you want by using Google’s Advanced Search feature. Don’t be frightened by the name “Advanced Search”; it’s easy to use, and it allows you to select or exclude pages with more precision than Google’s standard search box. Click on the Advanced Search link […]

...read all of: Advanced Search Form